Newark young man — Dan Evans is officially in remission following scan at Queens Medical Hospital, Nottingham
For Newark’s ‘miracle boy’, this Christmas is more than just a festive season, but a celebration of life, resilience and hope.
Following a two-year-long battle after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer on Christmas Eve 2022, Dan Evans, of Newark, and his family will celebrate their first ‘normal’ Christmas as the young man is, at last, cancer-free.
“This year feels different, the weight is finally off my shoulders,” said Dan.
He added: “Before the past two Christmases, I hadn’t gone through anything like this so you just take each Christmas as it comes — you celebrate, but don’t make much of it.
“But after going through the last two, I do value it more and understand how much more it means to be able to celebrate it.
“Before it was just another holiday, now it is a celebration of everything we have overcome.”
He was first diagnosed at the age of 18 after going to the hospital with flu-like symptoms, and last Christmas, he was told that all treatment avenues had been exhausted and he should ‘go home and make memories’.
However, Dan and his family refused to give up and research found a clinical trial that had proved successful elsewhere.
The public rallied around and raised £50,000, with the aim of £100,000 for the treatment, before it was granted by the NHS through compassionate use.
“The first Christmas after my diagnosis wasn’t too bad because they literally said it’s the one you want to get, because if you were to get a type the one I got was so treatable.
“It wasn’t great but it wasn’t too bad because knowing it was very treatable put our minds at ease,” Dan said.
He added: “But the second one was a blur, everything was happening and doctors said they couldn’t do anything.
“Then we were waiting for approval from the companies, the whole fundraising and I don’t even fully remember what happened.
“I was on so many tablets and it was just very strange, we just tried to make the most of it because we didn’t know what was going to happen.
“This year is a complete U-turn, I finished treatment, and we are getting the follow-ups and slowly getting back to where we were before — normality.”
Thanks to ground-breaking medical interventions, community support, and an unmatchable fighting spirit, Dan has reached a milestone many thought impossible, now giving Dan the title of ‘miracle boy’.
As Dan adjusts to life beyond cancer, “normal” is taking on a new meaning as he is rebuilding his strength and managing lingering side effects like neuropathy, which he considers to be a small price to pay.
He added: “I almost have glimpses of what it used to be like, the main thing I used to think about was getting up in the morning, putting my music on and just going about the day.
“It’s all about making a new normal now, everything has changed and everyone’s moved on in life, my mates are at university, college or working and I am just trying to catch up so it is all about figuring out what is normal.
“It is a trauma at the end of the day and I still feel quite numb, things, in general, are quite as they used to be and maybe it will come in time, I hope it comes in time.
“I feel very surreal.”
Six months ago, after he concluded his treatment, Dan went through a stem cell transplant, which despite being exhausting and facing some weaknesses in recovery, Dan overcame.
This Christmas will see Dan reconnecting with family in a way he couldn’t during the height of his treatment as immunity concerns and undergoing treatments had kept him isolated.
This year, he’s looking forward to hugs, laughter, and the simple joy of being together.
He said: “We’re going to see family in London before Christmas,
“Being able to go to places again is nice
“During the pinnacle of it, last Christmas, we were discussing getting the treatment and we tried to get funding for and we proposed going to Germany but the doctors said I wouldn’t even make the flight.”
Dan was only a pupil at Sir William Robertson Academy in Welbourn when he was first diagnosed with stage four Primary Mediastinal B Cell Lymphoma (PMBCL).
His family was expecting it to be only six months of chemotherapy, however, it turned into 18 months of failed treatments and a nightmare for them all, but what once had been a Christmas nightmare is now a Christmas miracle.
For Dan’s family, including his mother Natalya, Christmas also holds a deeper meaning this year.
She said: “I’m so looking forward to this Christmas, it will be completely different because this whole situation made us realise that people just take things for granted.
“Even little things like road traffic don’t matter as much, at the end of the day, knowing that Dan is with me, little silly things don’t really matter.
“At the end of the day, you realise that anything is possible to solve as long as you have got help.”
As Natalya is from Kazakhstan, New Year is a big celebration for the family, however, the past two New Years haven’t brought much hope or happiness to the family, unlike the upcoming one.
“I remember the first New Year’s I was in Nottingham’s Queen Medical and I remember that we were the only ones on the ward and the youth support coordinator put a Happy New Year thing up because she knew we were there.
“Everyone had been allowed home and we could see the fireworks everything.”
As the family prepares for a festive season filled with joy, they’re also looking forward to what 2025 will bring.
Dan has plans to attend Lincoln University to study geography, plans that he had made before his life changed forever.
The bell-ringing ceremony to mark the end of his cancer journey will potentially take place in January.
Dan added: “My wishes are to stay in remission for the rest of my life, I don’t want to go through that again.
“I just can’t imagine having to go through that again, myself or someone I know.”
